Floater (EU2012)

A twisted ball of airborne agony, the Floater provides close air support for the Alien forces. Unlike their older cousins from the original, these Floaters fly with powerful jet powered packs integrated into their bodies. They have pretty weak armour but they are very fast and agile. Their mobility makes them ideal for flanking.

They take advantage of their superior mobility and evasiveness to outflank even the strongest defensive positions. They can also use their Launch ability to drop down anywhere they wish on the battlefield. They cannot fire after launching though, leaving them defenseless if they drop into the middle of your squad. Be wary of your snipers though, they can be caught unable to fire if a Floater launches down to them.

Floater groups may be easy to dispatch by themselves but in the middle of a heated firefight they can drop in unexpectedly, catching your soldiers off guard and leaving them flanked. Their flanking maneuvers can sometimes leading to disastrous situations for your operatives.

You may want to keep a stock of their corpses on hand, as they are used for the useful one-use-each Defense Matrix module for your Interceptors.

Can fire a special shot that grants reaction fire at a single target if it moves. The target also suffers a -30 Aim penalty.

Flight

Flying units can bypass ground obstacles. They can remain in flight if they have sufficient fuel.Floaters have 35 fuel.

Launch

Move anywhere on the battlefield in a single turn. Launch cannot be used indoors. Will end the Floater's turn.

Evasion

Enemies targeting this unit when it is airborne suffer a -20% Aim penalty.

Notes

Floaters start appearing on April.

Floaters are always considered to have at least half cover even in the open or when flying, unless in proper cover and flanked. This bonus does not stack with existing cover bonuses - they only receive the best cover.

If killed during a successful mission a Floater Corpse will be recovered.